Jorge Drexler
Uruguayan musician
Who is Jorge Drexler?
Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born 21 September 1964) is a Uruguayan musician, actor and medical doctor. Jorge Abner Drexler Prada was born in Montevideo, the eldest child of Gunther Drexler Schlein (1935–2024) and Lucero Prada da Silveira (1939–2018). His father was a German Jew from Berlin who, at the age of four, fled Nazi persecution in Germany together with his parents, Georg and Ruth Drexler. The family sought refuge in Bolivia before later settling in Uruguay. His mother was a Roman Catholic of mixed Spanish, French, and Portuguese ancestry. Drexler was raised Jewish and attended both public schools and Jewish educational institutions, including the Instituto Ariel Hebreo Uruguayo. He began playing piano at age five, before attending guitar and composition classes.
Historical significance
Drexler is known for winning the 2005 Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Al Otro Lado del Río" from The Motorcycle Diaries, becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Oscar and marking the first time a Spanish-language song received the award.